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About the Author

Rabbi Ken Spiro, originally from New Rochelle, NY, graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Russian Language and Literature and did graduate studies at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. He has rabbinic ordination from Aish Jerusalem and a Masters Degree in History from Vermont College of Norwich University. Rabbi Spiro is also a licensed tour guide by the Israel Ministry of Tourism. He has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs such as BBC, National Geographic Channel and The History Channel. He lives near Jerusalem with his wife and five children, where he works as a senior lecturer for Aish Jerusalem.

In one volume, Crash Course in Jewish History explores the 4,000 years of Jewish existence while answering the great questions: Why have the Jewish people been so unique, so impactful, yet so hated and so relentlessly persecuted?

Crash Course in Jewish History is not only comprehensive and readable, it is also entertaining and enlightening. Novices and scholars alike will find Crash Course in Jewish History to be thought-provoking and insightful, as well as a valuable and relevant guide to understanding the challenges we all face in the 21st century.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 6

(5)
Yosef D.,
September 18, 2011 6:03 PM

Meat and Mayo can be kosher

B"H. I must comment, in response to David - if you have kosher bread, and you have kosher meat, and you have kosher mayonaise, you can have a kosher sandwich. It's not hard to do, if you have kosher supplies. Of course, one can not mix milk and meat, but mayonaise is not dairy - at least no mayo that I can remember seeing.

(4)
david m.,
August 15, 2011 6:36 AM

IMPORTANT CORRECTIONS

1. THE DIVINE PRESENCE HAS NEVER LEFT THE WESTERN WAL. DO NOT DISMISS IT AS UNIMPORTANT.
2. THE JEWISH PEOPLE DID NOT "TAKE" OR "CONQUER" JERUSALEM. DAVID PURCHASED IT FROM THE YEVUSI
3. WHAT'S WITH THE CLOWN IN THE NEW CITY? HE SAYS "YOU'LL GET RIPPED OFF" CHANGING MONEY. WHAT KIND OF HORRID THING IS THAT? AND A STEREOTYPE. HE SAYS THE OLD CITY IS 'BREAD" AND THE NEW IS "MEAT AND MAYONAISE"? HUH? NOT ONLY NOT KOSHER, VERY DISRESPECTFUL. PLEASE FIRE THAT THAT CLOWN AND RE-DO THAT SECTION WITH PROPER RESPECT.

chaim g,
November 6, 2011 5:04 PM

relax

Try changing money anywhere...

(3)
John,
April 22, 2011 1:49 AM

EMOTIONAL

After finding out that my great grand-mother was Jewish and which meant I have Jewish blood, I have done nothing but study about my new culture. This video is awsome. It's like fresh water during a hot day. I love this site, I love the Jewish people and I'm proud to be apart of this awsome history. Shalom.

(2)
Deanna,
February 12, 2011 1:46 AM

1

the was very good and awsome too bye

(1)
Rachel M.,
October 23, 2007 1:42 PM

one city combining all faith- Jerusalem

very interesting done- and appealing to all the major religion. I liked it.

Since honey is produced by bees, and bees are not a kosher species, how can honey be kosher?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

The Talmud (Bechoros 7b) asks your very question! The Talmud bases this question on the principle that “whatever comes from a non-kosher species is non-kosher, and that which comes from something kosher is kosher.”

So why is bee-honey kosher? Because even though bees bring the nectar into their bodies, the resultant honey is not a 'product' of their bodies. It is stored and broken down in their bodies, but not produced there. (see Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 81:8)

By the way, the Torah (in several places such as Exodus 13:5) praises the Land of Israel as "flowing with milk and honey." But it may surprise you to know that the honey mentioned in the verse is actually referring to date and fig honey (see Rashi there)!

In 1809, a group of 70 disciples of the great Lithuanian sage the Vilna Gaon, arrived in Israel, after traveling via Turkey by horse and wagon. The Vilna Gaon set out for the Holy Land in 1783, but for unknown reasons did not attain his goal. However he inspired his disciples to make the move, and they became pioneers of modern settlement in Israel. (A large contingent of chassidic Jews arrived in Tzfat around the same time.) The leader of the 1809 group, Rabbi Israel of Shklov, settled in Tzfat, and six years later moved to Jerusalem where he founded the modern Ashkenazic community. The early years were fraught with Arab attacks, earthquakes, and a cholera epidemic. Rabbi Israel authored, Pe'at Hashulchan, a digest of the Jewish agricultural laws relating to the Land of Israel. (He had to rewrite the book after the first manuscript was destroyed in a fire.) The location of his grave remained unknown until it was discovered in Tiberias, 125 years after his death. Today, the descendants of that original group are amongst the most prominent families in Jerusalem.

When you experience joy, you feel good because your magnificent brain produces hormones called endorphins. These self-produced chemicals give you happy and joyful feelings.

Research on these biochemicals has proven that the brain-produced hormones enter your blood stream even if you just act joyful, not only when you really are happy. Although the joyful experience is totally imaginary and you know that it didn’t actually happen, when you speak and act as if that imaginary experience did happen, you get a dose of endorphins.

These chemicals are naturally produced by your brain. They are totally free and entirely healthy.

Many people find that this knowledge inspires them to create more joyful moments. It’s not just an abstract idea, but a physical reality.

Occasionally, when I walk into an office, the receptionist greets me rudely. Granted, I came to see someone else, and a receptionist's disposition is immaterial to me. Yet, an unpleasant reception may cast a pall.

A smile costs nothing. Greeting someone with a smile even when one does not feel like smiling is not duplicity. It is simply providing a pleasant atmosphere, such as we might do with flowers or attractive pictures.

As a rule, "How are you?" is not a question to which we expect an answer. However, when someone with whom I have some kind of relationship poses this question, I may respond, "Not all that great. Would you like to listen?" We may then spend a few minutes, in which I unburden myself and invariably begin to feel better. This favor is usually reciprocated, and we are both thus beneficiaries of free psychotherapy.

This, too, complies with the Talmudic requirement to greet a person in a pleasant manner. An exchange of feelings that can alleviate someone's emotional stress is even more pleasant than an exchange of smiles.

It takes so little effort to be a real mentsch.

Today I shall...

try to greet everyone in a pleasant manner, and where appropriate offer a listening ear.

With stories and insights,
Rabbi Twerski's new book Twerski on Machzor makes Rosh Hashanah prayers more meaningful. Click here to order...